Tuesday, January 22, 2013

A few things... (updated)

Oh yeah... it still exists.#1 - Let's be very clear straight off; I've yet to confirm what follows. But I'm in such a swell mood these days, I feel like sharing. So, word has been passed to me that MLS has now rejected Stoke in their quest for Brek Shea. Reading between the lines, if true, that would mean the Potters made a second offer that FC Dallas accepted.

Meanwhile, Shea was at FCD training on Monday, so obviously he has not flown over for his whatever-you-want-to-call-it yet. Naturally, I will be digging for all this skinny today, so stay tuned.

And since this topic has stirred up the usual work permit likelihood debate, I will point to last week's Postcard From Europe, which reasons that there is no longer any need to fear this hurdle to England moves.

#2 - As suspected, the USMNT will play Germany in June. But it will be in D.C. and not Deutschland as I'd hoped, so I am feeling a bit schmerzlich.

#3 - Philly Union academy midfielder Chris Gomez Twitter-ized last night that he will have February trials with Sevilla and Málaga. How did I even happen upon on that? Ya know, I don't even remember. Someone has broken my brain.

#4 - Uh oh. I guess that explains why summer freebie Jonathan Spector has not received an extension offer from the Brums. Mystery solved.

#5 - There are plenty of fun facts in the latest great Soccer Over There numbers run... but did anyone realize that only three players in the major European leagues have had more multi-goal games this season than Jozy Altidore. I did not.

#6 - Another thing I've been hearing over here, but haven't confirmed yet? Eintracht Frankfurt's Canada target man Rob Friend is supposedly in talks with Vancouver. Been hearing it for a good while, actually - though I'm not sure that's a good sign.

UPDATE: This is a done transfer deal, but Friend is still negotiating his Eintracht exit. Full MLSS report coming in a bit.

Greg: just keep an open mind. I was anti-Twitter as well, for many years, but its actually useful for disseminating news. Might even be nice for you, as the form limits wordiness and you're pretty direct and to the point to begin with.

@AdamTheRed: I think MLS has everything to gain by being intransigent. They have a well-deserved reputation for being financially savvy, and I think it's good for the league to not just let anyone go the first time someone shows up offering a couple of million dollars. And, conversely, to ensure the teams don't run themselves into the ground with outrageous salaries. I fully support them busting Stoke's balls, even if its just over $500,000 like they did with Cameron.

MLS needs to stop stepping in when one of its clubs and the bidding club agree on a deal. Undermines the clubs in MLS and throws into question does MLS have confidence in the judgement of the people who run these clubs.

If Stoke and FCD agree and MLS comes in and blocks it, it's basically MLS telling FCD you aren't smart enough to run your own team and we don't trust you to make your own decisions, even though we let terrible deals like Boyd, Frings and Rafa go through.

If I'm a young player I try to skip MLS at all costs. I'm sure Agudelo and Najar love the league right now.

@Jon: That's a fair point. But we went through this *exact* same scenario with Cameron last year, and MLS stepped in and wrangled a meaningfully higher transfer fee, so they might be on to something.

Regarding young players, there's obviously work to be done, but the recent evidence of young Americans coming back to MLS (Tracy, Adu, Arguez, etc.) suggests that the route to Europe is fraught with peril, and that initial fat paycheck may not be worth it if your career only spans 3 years because you never get off the bench.

MLS obviously has work to do, but I think it's becoming a much better place for a young player to develop his craft. And I think it's really hard to say whether MLS is being obstructionist with regards to Najar and Agudelo. For all we know, the bids could be derisory (Najar) or nonexistent (Agudelo).

Who is NSC?

NSC is run by Greg Seltzer (MLSsoccer.com), who has reported on soccer across the globe since 2001, covering MLS, U.S. Men, Women & Youth national teams, World Cup, Gold Cup, U-20 World Cup, the UEFA European Championship, UEFA Champions League and Europa League, UEFA Cup, CONCACAF and UEFA qualifiers, Premiership, Bundesliga, Eredivisie, various second-tier leagues, domestic cups and international friendlies.